Unwelcome Advantage
by H.G. Stewart
Summary: Complete! Boss's latest plan to aquire the Duke farm can easily be foiled by Luke's discovery, but there would be a heavy personal price to pay. Some things are worse than loosing your home, so is Luke willing to give up the farm?
1. Default Chapter

"Uncle Jesse, do we have to clean out the barn _today_?" Bo Duke muttered as he followed his cousin, Luke Duke, and his Uncle Jesse to the barn.

"Well, you don't have to, but then again, the orphanage doesn't have to have a brand new playground, does it?" Jesse replied, sharing his calm wisdom. "Besides, you two have been promising to clean that barn out for me for months now."

"I know it's for a good cause, Uncle Jesse, but it's not every weekend the Sanderson sisters come to town!"

Bo argued.

"And if it weren't for the fundraiser, the Sanderson's wouldn't be here to begin with." Jesse reminded them.

The fundraiser Jesse was referring to was a community tag sale to benefit the orphanage. Folks all over Hazzard were digging through garages and cleaning out barns to gather up their old stuff to contribute to the cause. The money they raised was going to be used to install a new gym set at the orphanage.

Jesse stopped at the entrance of the barn and turned to face the boys. "Well, you know where everything is. If we haven't used it in a few years, get rid of it, that is except for the replacement parts for the farm equipment. That ole' push mower can go, it doesn't run anymore. Don't, I repeat, do not clean out the stuff in the hayloft. The bottom floor is all we're gonna worry about."

"But Jesse, some of that stuff in the hayloft is practically antiques." Luke argued. "We could probably get more money for the orphanage from that than we could the stuff on the ground floor."

"I said don't worry about it." Jesse replied sternly, which shocked the boys. When he saw their reaction, he softened a little. "There's some things you just don't want to loose. Listen, I'm going to see what I can dig out of the pantry in the kitchen. You boys holler if you have any questions."

Jesse was just heading back toward the house when Enos showed up in his patrol car. Jesse paused as the lone deputy of Hazzard County stopped his car and got out.

"Afternoon, Uncle Jesse." Enos said, tipping his hat.

"So far." Uncle Jesse replied. Enos never stopped by the house in full uniform unless something was wrong. "Let's get to it…what's J.D. put you up to this time?"

"Well, Boss told me to deliver this to you." Enos replied handing Jesse some paperwork. Jesse took it and began to read as Bo and Luke came up behind him.

"A foreclosure notice? What's this all about our mortgage isn't due for another week!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Well, I know your mortgage used to be due at the first of the month, Uncle Jesse, but that was before it changed. It seems you're past due."

"I ain't your Uncle Jesse! And how am I supposed to know I'm past due when I don't even know the date has changed? When did he change it?"

"Yesterday. It seems….." Enos began.

"Oh never mind. Boys, I'm going into town. J.D.'s went too far this time. He can't legally kick us out with this bogus notice."

"Want us to go with you, Uncle Jesse?" Luke asked.

"No, you boys stay here and work on that barn. Don't worry, I know how to handle J.D.

This little incident doesn't cancel the tag sale. Just remember what I told you about the hay loft."

"Yes sir." Luke replied as he watched his Uncle start up his ancient Ford pickup and head into town with Enos close behind.

"That Boss Hogg, why is he pickin' on us this time?" Bo asked as he headed back toward the barn.

"You mean he needs a reason?" Luke asked as he followed Bo.

"Apparently not." Bo replied, entering a stall where some old farm supplies were stored. "It just makes me mad. Uncle Jesse has been nothing but kind and helpful to him all these years and still he's always after us for some reason."

"You're right. Boss has always been nasty to us, every since……."

Bo looked at his cousin who was paused in thought. "Every since what? Boss has always been rotten."

"No not always. I can remember when we were kids we used to go over to Boss's house sometimes and he was always nice to us."

"Hmmm. I guess you had a different childhood from me, or a dream. I don't remember that at all."

"That's because you're five years younger than me, little cousin." Luke reminded him. "I think we stopped going over there when you were one, maybe two. Boss would give us candy and everything. He would even let us sit on his lap."

"Hmmm. I'm glad I DON'T remember." Bo replied.

"Then, it's like something happened one day. You just didn't like Boss anymore. Whenever Jesse left you to visit with him you would cry and cry until Jesse took you back."

"My first impression of Boss was apparently the correct one." Bo replied as he continued to go through the things.

"I suppose, but I can remember Boss getting so mad when you didn't want to see him."

"So THAT'S why we always end up in jail. Because Boss knows we're not going to voluntarily spend time with him." Bo replied sarcastically.

"Hey, I never said it made any sense, I'm just telling it how I remember it." Luke replied.

"Well, this box is ready." Bo announced, standing up with a crate full of tractor parts he knew they were to keep. "Wonder where Uncle Jesse wants this?"

"Give it to me. I'll put it up in the hayloft with the rest of the stuff." Luke replied. He went to climb the ladder and turned to take the box from Bo.

"Just remember to put it where we can find it. Knowing our luck the tractor will break down tomorrow."

"Right." Luke replied. He turned and surveyed the contents of the loft and spied an old chest of drawers in the back.

"Hey Bo. I'm gonna sort these parts into the drawers on this chest. That way we won't have to go diggin' for them."

"Okay." Bo shouted back. "I'm gonna take this other stuff outside where we can load it on Jesse's truck when he gets back."

Luke set down the crate of parts and pulled on the top drawer of the chest. He quickly found that it was stuck and tugged harder. When he was pulling quite firmly the drawer finally gave way and Luke ended up pulling it all the way out..

It was when he was attempting to replace the drawer that he felt paper on the bottom. He flipped the drawer and looked curiously at the envelope that was adhered to the bottom. The yellowed tape that bound it there removed easily due to it's age.

Luke debated on whether or not to open it. It wasn't like Jesse to hide anything from them. Still…."

Luke opened the envelope and took out the paperwork inside. He read for just a few minutes before his face turned ashen.

"Luke!"

Luke jumped a bit before he looked down. Bo was staring at him from the doorway of the barn.

"I've been calling you for five minutes. You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Luke swallowed hard and wondered if he should tell Bo about what he had read.


	2. 2

Boss Hogg sat behind his desk in the county jail, laughing greedily as he counted a large sum of cash and puffed on a fat cigar. Roscoe, the county sheriff, stood behind him watching. Although their titles identified them as representatives of the law, the pair was so crooked they made a paperclip look straight. Boss's figures ran into the thousands as Roscoe snaked a hand around his side and attempted to pluck a bill from the stack. Without batting an eye, Boss smacked his hand away without breaking stride in his counting.

As Roscoe stood there nursing his stinging hand, Jesse Duke stormed into his office with Enos close behind.

"J.D.!" He exclaimed, thrusting the foreclosure notice on top of Boss's cash. "What is this?"

Boss stopped long enough to remove his cigar and look up at Jesse. "Why Jesse, I didn't know you were having trouble with your eyesight. Let me help. IT'S A FORCLOSURE NOTICE!" He shouted before gruffly replacing the cigar between his lips and continuing to count.

"I know what it is, my question is, why?"

Boss became frustrated as he lost count of his money. He then looked sternly at Jesse again before removing the cigar a second time. "Well, for one thing, it's because the Frothy Brewing Company is looking to build a facility in Hazzard County, and your farm is the desirable location for the plant. Second of all, I own the title to said farm, and I can do what I want!"

"J.D., after all these years, you would kick us out for a little profit on a land sale?"

Boss shook his head. "No not just a little profit. It just so happens that Frothy is building in Hazzard because I bought enough stock in their company to influence the decision. That plant is gonna make me rich! Rich I tell you!"

Jesse had a look between stern and confused. "I know you're the richest man in Hazzard County, but just how is it that you were able to invest enough money to influence the board at Frothy? It's the largest manufacturer of beer in the whole U.S. of A! Your wealth is small potatoes compared to a corporation like that!"

"My wealth may be, but Big Daddy's wasn't." Boss removed his hat and placed it on his chest, followed by Roscoe. "May he rest in peace."

Jesse looked shocked. "Your father passed away? I'm sorry J.D."

"Yeah, me too." Boss replied as he replaced his hat and again attempted to count the money.

"But why wasn't I notified?" Jesse asked.

"Notified? Why would you have been?" Boss asked.

Jesse felt himself getting angry again. "You and I both know why, J.D. Your father entrusted me to be the executor of his estate, although it is bad that he couldn't trust his own son."

Boss had a look of interest on his face. "Oh you wanted to be the executor, huh? Well, let's see. Big Daddy had two sons; me and Abraham. Unfortunately Abraham died of a stroke last year…" He removed his hat again and was once again followed by Roscoe. "…..may he rest in peace." He and Rosco replaced their hats again. "He took special pains to write those no account nephews of mine, Hughie and Dewey, out of the will after they tried to forage checks from his account. Seeing how he has no other close family that anyone knows of, that makes me, Jefferson Davis Hogg, the lone surviving heir. Case closed….unless…." He continued, leaning forward. "You, for some reason, would like to challenge the will."

Jesse stood staring coolly for a long time before shaking his head. "I just want to get this business with the foreclosure notice taken care of."

"The only thing for you to take care of is your things. I want the lot of you off of my farm before the weekend!"

"This will not stand up in a court of law!" Jesse shouted.

"Oh, you want to go to court?" Boss asked. He took the small plaque on his desk that read "County Commissioner" and flipped it around to read "Judge Hogg." "I call to order the case of Jesse Duke vs. Hogg Savings and Loan in the matter of his unpaid mortgage. After several late payments on what is known as the Duke farm, it has been decided that it would be in the best interest of the bank to foreclose on said property to introduce new mortgage holders who are better able to manage their finances. I find in favor of Hogg Savings and Loan and grant their request to proceed with the foreclosure. Case closed." He ended by banging a gavel and replacing his cigar.

Jesse shook his head and turned toward the door.

Boss stared after him. "It doesn't have to end like this, Jesse. Your family can keep your farm and have a part in the Frothy business right along with me. You know what you have to do."

"I certainly do." Jesse replied, opening the door. "I have to go home and pack."


	3. 3

Luke quickly decided that this wasn't something he wanted to discuss with Bo right now. "Umm, yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just…." he quickly looked around and spotted a cardboard box that contained some of his old belongings. "……going through some of my old baseball cards." He finished, grabbing a handful and holding them up for Bo to see.

"Oh." Bo replied. "Well are you going to help me move this mower out? The back wheel is jammed and it's not very light.

"Okay, just a sec." Luke replied as Bo went to tinker with the mower. He quickly turned back to his box as if he were closing it up and used the opportunity to slip the paper into his pants pocket. This was something he was definitely going to have to speak with Jesse about.

Soon Luke was down from the loft and had helped Bo to move the mower outside. Just as Jesse returned in his pickup truck, the telephone rang. Bo ran inside to answer it as Jesse turned the motor off.

"Uncle Jesse." Luke said, rushing up to his elder. "I have to talk to you."

"About what?" Jesse replied solemnly.

"Well….." Luke began, half surprised that he had approached his Uncle so quickly. Now that he had his attention, Luke suddenly felt very uneasy about confronting Jesse on the matter. While it was true that Jesse didn't approve of one snooping around in other's affairs, he himself had broken his own rule about keeping secrets from the family.

It was then that Luke noticed how sad his Uncle looked. "What's the matter, Jesse?"

"That was Daisy on the phone." Bo announced as he came back outside, allowing the screen door to slam shut behind him. "She said that Susan had her baby this morning and she's going to stay with her a couple more days." Daisy was away from home in Capitol City visiting with her childhood friend.

"I hope you got Susan's number, Bo, 'cause were gonna need it to let Daisy know where home is."

"What?" Bo asked.

"Jesse, you're not making sense. What happened with Boss today?" Luke coaxed.

Jesse relayed the conversation with Boss to his nephews, omitting only a few details. "So it looks like we're going to be looking for a new place to live."

"That's just crazy." Bo replied. "Uncle Jesse you just found out about Big Daddy, and I know that has to be a shock. You'll come around in a few days and beat Boss at his game."

The boys knew that Jesse had always been very fond of Big Daddy and to have been excluded from his memorial service and funeral was hurtful for him.

"No, boys, there's not going to be a fight. There's nothing we can do but pack up and move on."

"Jesse." Luke replied as his uncle trudged to the door, waving him away as if he were shooing a fly. "Bo, I want to talk to Jesse alone, do you mind?"

"Uh, no." Bo shook his head. "I'll start loading the back of Jesse's truck for the orphanage."

As Bo began loading the truck, Luke went into the house and found Jesse in his favorite armchair, his head in his hands.

"Uncle Jesse. We don't have to do this. We don't have to move." Luke began.

"Luke, I've been to talk to J.D. Big Daddy left a large inheritance behind and J.D. is 10 times as rich today as he was yesterday. We can't win the money battle this time."

"Yes we can." Luke sat down and faced his Uncle. "I know, Uncle Jesse, I know."

"You know what?" Jesse asked, looking up at his eldest nephew.

Luke sighed, still a bit nervous about revealing himself to Jesse. He then swallowed and pulled the paper from his pocket and handed it to his Uncle.

Jesse's eyes widened when he saw what Luke had given him. He didn't even have to unfold it to know what it was. "Did you tell anyone else about this?"

"No. I wanted to talk to Bo, but then I thought I should keep quiet until you could explain things to me."

"I think you should keep quiet forever. What good would result from Bo, or Daisy, or anyone else for that matter to know about this?"

"Well, Jesse, I don't have a real clear understanding of the entire situation, but I think I know enough to realize that the more people that know about this, the better the chance that we can keep our farm."

"That you are right about." Jesse sighed. "But when you put the whole thing in perspective, what would you rather loose? The farm? Or….." He trailed off, allowing Luke to finish the thought for himself.

"Part of me agrees with you, but the other part thinks that this should be common family knowledge so we can all decide together what to do."

Uncle Jesse laughed a defeated laugh. "All that stuff."

"What?"

"That loft is jam packed with old stuff, and what do you find but the one thing I tried to keep you away from."

About that time Bo came in from outside. "I finished loading everything outside onto the back of the truck. Did you find anything in the pantry that you wanted to send?"

"No, Bo. I didn't have time to look. But that will be fine. You go ahead and take what you have over there."

Bo sensed an uneasy silence. "Is everything okay?"

Jesse looked at Luke, then at Bo. "Come over here, son. We need to talk."


	4. Chapter 4

Uncle Jesse handed the paper back to Luke, nodding at him at the same time. Luke knew that he was to put the paper away while his Uncle talked to Bo.

Bo entered the living room and nervously pulled the footrest toward the armchair before taking a seat on it facing Jesse. Something had to be seriously wrong. Although he knew that his Uncle Jesse loved him very much, he usually didn't address him as 'son' unless bad news followed.

Jesse sighed as he looked at Bo. Luke sat watching with an emotion that was better described than named. It was a mix of desperately wanting to jump up and shut Bo's ears to what he was about to hear and wanting him to hear it very badly at the same time.

"Bo, I know that in the past we've always been able to come up with some scheme to stop J.D. from doing what he does. But this time, there's just no way out. We have to move, no if's and's or but's."

Bo looked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Now Uncle Jesse that just don't sound like you. This is, what, the eighth or ninth time Boss has tried to take our farm? We've always figured a way out of the mess and we will this time too."

"You don't understand, Bo. Every since J.D. has had two quarters to rub together he has wanted this land. Why? Because it's a large piece of property that is fairly flat, has a river running out back and is fairly close to town. And J.D. knows that if any type of industry comes to Hazzard, that this is the piece of land they would most want. He also realizes that Hazzard isn't exactly the place all of the big name businesses are gonna look at to build in, which means that they would need some financial persuasion to make that decision."

Jesse stood and walked to the fireplace. Bo and Luke turned to look at him as he took his trusty but barely used pipe from the mantle and tapped it.

"Now you're right that this isn't the first time this has happened. In the past when it looked like J.D. had enough money to take the land and invest in an industry, it turned out to be one of his shady schemes and we managed to uncover it. Other times, we were just a little short and our good friends and neighbors were able to bail us out when they pooled their money. But this time it's different. J.D.'s got money this time, enough money to take this land and turn it into something, and he got it honestly." He paused long enough to strike a match and puff on the pipe while Bo's anger began to boil. "I suppose we could take our argument to the court in Atlanta, since we all know that J.D. can't legally kick us out by changing our due date without more notice than that. But I don't think it would do any good. J.D. would bring up the fact that we've been late several times and point out how badly industry is needed in Hazzard, and the court would find in his favor. I'm sure of it."

"Well I ain't so sure of it, Uncle Jesse!" Bo exclaimed, jumping up from the footrest. "Now I know we Dukes ain't got much but we do have our pride and a fightin' spirit and I ain't never known any of us to give up without using that, not 'till today anyway." He paused to let the last statement sink in. "Now I know you're upset about Big Daddy and everything but I'm having a hard time believing that you're willing to let the farm your grandfather built go without a fight!"

"Now Bo…." Jesse began.

"No!" Bo said, waving him away and turning toward the door. "That Boss Hogg makes me sick. You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna go down there and give him a piece of my mind. It might not change nothing but I'm gonna do it anyway!"

Bo opened the door and slammed it behind him. He ran to the General, jumped in and sped off before Luke or Jesse even had a chance to move from the spots where they stood.

"Jesse, I thought you was going to tell him." Luke said.

"No. It's not worth it. This farm is not worth it."

"Maybe your wrong. Bo loves this farm just like you and I do and he's willing to fight for it."

"I don't know, Luke. But I do know it's going to be hard for you to keep this a secret now that you know what's going on."

"I don't know what's going on, Uncle Jesse, not the details anyway. I'm not going to say anything without your approval, though. You've handled this by yourself all these years and we've got along okay so I'm not going to be the one to change that. But I am worried about Bo right now. I think I'll follow him and make sure he doesn't get in too much trouble."

"That's probably a good idea." Jesse nodded. "Give me a holler on the CB if you need me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX\

Ten minutes later a red-faced fuming Bo Duke walked into the Hazzard County jail and straight into Boss's office.

"Boss Hogg, I want to talk to you." Bo announced in a slightly firm but otherwise surprisingly calm voice.

"Bo!" Boss exclaimed as he looked up from a massive plate of fried chicken that could have easily fed a third of Hazzard County's population. "What a surprise to see you here, and without your family." Boss's look suddenly changed from victory to hope. "Wait! Does this mean……….."

"Boss." Bo interrupted. "I'm here about Jesse's farm."

Boss looked satisfied. "Well I'm suppose since you came alone to take about 'Jesse's' farm then he finally had the good sense to tell you."

"To tell me what?"

"That we're gonna be rich! We'll be the richest family in Hazzard!" Boss replied. "Bo, I have to tell you, it's everything I've wanted. It's what I've _always_ wanted."

"Boss, you're not makin' a lick of sense, except for the part about wanting everything for yourself. Now that farm has been in my Uncle Jesse's family for over a hundred years and it ain't right for you to take it no matter how rich you are!"

"Oh" Boss replied. "Perhaps he didn't tell you."

"Tell me what? Suddenly everybody seems to want to talk to me today. What do you have to say?"

As the boisterous exchange continued, Cooter watched it all through the window of the county jail as he sat atop a car he was working on at his garage across the street. He paused in cleaning his wrench with a rag as Luke pulled up in Jesse's pickup truck.

"Afternoon Lukas Dukas." Cooter joked as Luke got out and slammed the door. "I don't know what's got in to that cousin of yours but he sure is giving it to Boss." He finished, jutting a greasy pinkie toward the jail window.

"Boss seems to be taking it pretty well." Luke commented as he leaned up against the car on which Cooter sat.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" Cooter asked.

Luke frowned, held up his hand, and shook his head as he continued to watch the exchange.

As the friends watched Bo continued to vent as his actions showed that he was speaking strongly and waving his hands about. Boss almost looked defeated which set Crazy Cooter to laughing on more than one occasion.

All of a sudden, Boss got up out of his chair and gave Bo some harsh words of his own. Bo stopped short and stood saying nothing. As Boss continued Bo began shaking his head and suddenly looked like a whipped little puppy. He knocked one of Boss's chairs over as he ran from the office with Boss close behind.

"Oh no!" Luke exclaimed.

"What? What's going on?" Cooter asked as Luke began running toward the jail.

Before he got there Bo appeared in the doorway and ran down the stairs. As he was midway down Boss appeared in the door.

"No! I won't believe it. I will NEVER believe it!" Bo exclaimed toward Boss as he jumped in the General and took off. He never even heard Luke repeatedly exclaim his name.

Luke turned and ran back toward the garage.

"Can I help? Is he alright? Why'd he act that way?" Cooter drilled as Luke got into Jesse's pickup.

Luke only had time to answer the last question. "He acted the way anyone would who got the earful Boss just gave him." With that, he started the pickup and took off after Bo.


	5. Chapter 5

Bo drove quickly and blindly through the countryside, not really caring which way he went. Deep down he knew he should be careful as he neared the elementary school, but his anger didn't let him care as he barreled past at over 80 m.p.h.

Roscoe smiled in victory as he sat in his patrol car in his hideaway near the school. He wasted a few moments putting his sandwich down and getting Flash out of his lap. He wasted a few more wrestling Flash for what was left of his uneaten sandwich. He then hit the siren and began to give chase.

Although the General was traveling fast, Bo wasn't attempting to outrun the law. It wasn't long before he looked in his rearview mirror and saw Roscoe giving chase.

"Alright, Bo Duke. Pull it over I got you this time." Roscoe said over the C.B.

"What for?" Bo asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Bo, where are you?" Luke asked, who was out in Jesse's pickup looking for him.

"Luke Duke, you hush!" Roscoe exclaimed. "I got yer cousin this time fer speeding past the school. Now that's naughty naughty."

"Well we've paid plenty of fines on Boss's illegal speed traps. Why don't you just apply some of that money to this incident and we'll call it even." Bo said sarcastically as he continued to speed along with Rosco in pursuit.

"Bo Duke, you pull over right now or I'm gonna place you under arrest!"

"Roscoe, leave him alone. He just left Boss's office and Boss got him all tore up about something." Luke said.

"How do you know that, cousin?" Bo asked.

"Never mind how he knew what!" Roscoe exclaimed again. "Now I'm telling you again, pull it over. I'm getting mad!"

"This is J.D. Hogg callin' Roscoe P. Coltrane." A new voice said over the CB. Luke rolled his eyes. All that was left was for Jesse to call in and Cooter to roll up in his tow truck. "Boss, don't you think you've done enough today?" Luke asked.

"Well you sure seem to know a lot today, Luke!" Bo called back.

"Roscoe P. Coltrane here. You want me to arrest him, Boss?"

"No nit-wit. I want you to leave him alone."

"What?" Roscoe asked, with the equal expression of surprise shared by the cousins.

"You heard me I said let him be."

"But Boss he was speeding through the school zone! We got him fair and square this time!"

"And school's out for the summer. Now cease and desist before somebody gets killed!"

"Ten four." Roscoe said, slamming on the brakes and turning around to go back to town.

"Bo, where are you?" Luke asked again, glad that Boss was showing a little sense in the situation.

Bo didn't answer. He took the opportunity of freedom to make a couple of jumps. First over Critter Creek then across the Mojabie River, where he startled some of the fisherman on the bridge there. One shook his fist toward Bo as the action startled him, causing him to loose his pole in the water.

Having burned off some steam, Bo found himself passing the farm and decided to go ahead and stop. He climbed out of the General and walked toward the barn, the chickens scattering in his path.

Meanwhile, Luke had stopped at a country store to use the payphone to call Jesse. He didn't want to take the chance of Bo hearing their conversation. "I didn't hear what was said, but I think Boss may have told him, Jesse."

"I can't believe J.D. would say anything, Luke. Although this would be the perfect opportunity for him to open his mouth, I swore him to secrecy years ago with a spit and shake. Even J.D. wouldn't go back on his word when a spit and shake is involved."

"Alls I know is Bo is terribly upset about something right now." Luke replied as Bo pulled up outside the farm in the General.

"Luke, he's back. I'm gonna talk to him you git on home."

"Yes sir." Luke replied before the pair hung up.

Jesse sighed and headed toward the barn, confused that he was hearing a banging sound as he went. He arrived to find Bo driving loose nails back into the barn wood, more so to burn off additional steam than to accomplish a task.

"Jesse, we got any oil for that tiller?" Bo asked.

"What do you want the tiller for?" Jesse asked.

"Because I'm gonna use it in the back field. We got crops to raise don't we?" He replied as he continued to drive the nails.

"That all depends. What did J.D. say to you?" Jesse asked as Luke pulled up in the pickup and rushed toward the barn and the banging sound.

Bo stopped using the hammer as Luke arrived. He turned to his Uncle and looked to be on the verge of tears. "He said you don't want this farm anymore."

"What?" Jesse asked.

"He said that you didn't want us around anymore. He said you were hoping that we would join the Nascar circuit and that you had been encouraging Daisy to marry Enos. That……that foreclosure notice was your idea so it wouldn't look like your fault, and he went along with the whole thing because he owed you a favor. And it all because you want to marry Laura and move into her house"

Jesse wanted to grin and would have had Bo not taken the situation so seriously. "Bo, since when have you ever believed a word that came out of J.D.'s mouth?"

Bo wiped his eyes with his sleeves and sniffed. "Well it seems true. I mean you know how much Luke and I love Nascar, and you're always worried about Daisy not settlin' down. And you just ain't worried about the farm this time, and that's not like you."

"And what of Laura?" Jesse asked. "I thought you kids knew that those rumors about Laura and I were just that, rumors. We're not interested in one another. She's not even over her husband's passin' yet."

Bo started to relax a bit. "Then none of it's true?"

"No boy." Jesse replied, hugging him. "I'd never do anything to send you kids away. Now it does look like we are gonna lose this farm, but if we leave here we're leaving as a family. Understand?"

"Yes sir." Bo laughed in relief. "But I still don't understand why you don't want to fight for the farm."

Jesse sighed. "Bo, it's been a long day. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Why don't you boys get that stuff on down to the orphanage before something happens to it?"

"Yes sir." They replied in unison.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A bit later they arrived at the orphanage and met up with the Sanderson Sisters, who talked them into joining them on a picnic.

"Elizabeth, I think you get prettier every time you come to town." Luke said, running his fingers through the girl's long blond hair. "Is there any way I can convince you to stay this time?"

"Hmmm, I'm open to suggestions." Elizabeth smiled as she and Luke began to kiss.

"Isn't that disgusting?" Bo asked as he and Amelia watched the couple.

"Terribly." Amelia replied as she planted her own kiss on Bo's lips. Bo laughed and pulled her down on the blanket with him.

"Bo! Luke!"

The boys immediately jumped up. They saw Adam Humphrey waving them down. Adam was over the orphanage and also their former high school principal, which explained why they still jumped to attention.

"Boys, I'm so sorry but I forgot to include that mower on your receipt."

"Oh. No problem." Luke replied, taking the receipt out of his shirt pocket. In doing so, he accidentally pulled out Jesse's paper which dropped to the blanket.

"Luke, you dropped this." Elizabeth said, picking up the paper.

"Oh." Luke replied, snatching the paper from her rather forcefully.

"Well Luke, you didn't have to be so rude about it." Bo scolded as Adam jotted on the receipt. "Why'd you act like that anyway?"

"No reason Bo. Sorry, Elizabeth." Luke apologized.

"It's no problem, Luke." Elizabeth replied.

Bo suddenly grinned. "Wait, I know what's going on!" He jumped up and plucked Jesse's paper from Luke's pocket.

"Bo! Give that back right now!" Luke commanded chasing Bo as he playfully ran from his cousin.

"What? You don't want Elizabeth to see your love notes? Who's this from? Mary Beth? Dixie?"

"Bo, I said give it back. I mean it!"

Bo continued to run, opening the paper all the time. As he began to read he slowed and stopped all together.

"Bo…" Luke said in a coaxing voice.

"No…." Bo said, shaking his head.

"I didn't want you to….."

"Is this a sick joke?" Bo demanded.

"Bo, I wish it were but…."

"I though when I left Boss's office this morning, I'd heard the worst news ever. But this beats it, beats it ten fold!"

"Bo…."

"This isn't true!" Bo said, crumpling up the paper and throwing it back at Luke, a new set of tears pooling in his eyes. "I know you like to play jokes on me Luke Duke but this ain't funny. If you don't' apologize to me right now I'm gonna beat you into the ground!"

"Bo, I wish I could, but I can't. I found that just this morning in Jesse's things when I was up in the loft. He confirmed it."

Bo stood shaking his head. He walked backward away from his cousin and turned, taking a full sprint into the woods.

"Here we go again." Luke muttered, about to give chase to Bo. He was stopped by Adam, who grabbed his arm.

"Luke, you didn't take your receipt." He looked toward Bo, who had disappeared into the woods. "What's wrong with your cousin?"

"Can you keep a secret, Mr. Humphrey?" Luke asked.

"Sure, Luke. You've always known that."

Luke sighed and looked toward the woods before answering. "Bo just found out that the man he despises most in this world…….. is his father."


	6. Chapter 6

"I gotta go after Bo." Luke announced. Adam shook his head approvingly as Luke took off.

Luke ran into the woods, shouting Bo's name. He was able to route his direction as the vegetation was thick and his path had left a clear trail, but after awhile the low vegetation cleared away leaving nothing but the towering pine trees. Luke knew there was nothing but deep woods all the way around for miles and he had no idea which way his cousin had run. Reluctantly, he turned back to the clearing that led to the orphanage, where he intended to offer an excuse to the Sandersons and return home.

On the way home, he couldn't resist driving along the forest line, hoping to see Bo emerging somewhere, anywhere. However when dusk turned to darkness, he had no choice but to return home.

"Luke!" Uncle Jesse exclaimed as he pulled up. "Where in tarnation have you been? Elizabeth called askin' about you and told me somethin' happened between you and Bo and that Bo took off."

"Uncle Jesse," Luke began as he slammed the door to the pickup truck. "I'm completely and totally brainless." He relayed to Jesse the events that surrounded Bo's discovery of the paper that revealed his family lineage.

"I know Bo's upset with me, but I hope he has the good sense to git out of the woods." Jesse mused. "He knows how bad the wolves have been this summer. Luke, get on the CB and call anybody you know whose house Bo may have went to. I'll get on the phone and do the same. If he don't want to come home tonight, that's fine but I at least want to know he's safe."

Jesse and Luke spent the next half hour or so making calls that yielded no results on Bo's whereabouts. When they ran out of ideas, it was well past 11:00.

"Jesse, why don't you get some sleep? It's been a long day." Luke suggested.

"I can't sleep, not with one of my youngin's out there somewhere hurtin'." Jesse replied, settling in one of the rocking chairs on the porch.

"I don't think I'm gonna get much sleep tonight either." Luke admitted, sitting up on the porch rail, the fireflies twinkling around him. "Since we're sitting here anyway, why don't you tell me all the details."

"Where do I begin?" Jesse said to himself more than anyone. "I suppose you remember your Uncle Matthew served in the Vietnam War."

"Yeah. 1962 the first year of the war." Luke remembered. "I suppose he was my inspiration for going into the service myself."

"What you might not remember was that Matthew was one of the first servicemen declared KIA."

"Killed in action?" Luke asked, perking up. "I thought Uncle Matthew was killed in the fire at the church social."

"Oh he was. He, your Aunt Olivia, your parents, Daisy's parents, and about 12 other citizens of Hazzard. The banquet hall they were in was engulfed in flames in less than a minute and to this day they're not sure what started that fire." Jesse shook his head. "But I'm getting off on another subject. When we all thought Matthew had died, Olivia barely had any time to grieve before J.D. come around. I was surprised when they started courtin' a couple of months later."

"How long did they see each other?" Luke asked.

"Not long, about 4 months. But J.D. loved her. He really loved her. I ain't never seen J.D. love anything or anybody in life as much as he loved money and Olivia.

"I can't hardly believe that."

"It's true. But after they courted their four months, we found out that Matthew was alive. In short, he came home and naturally Olivia wanted to be with him again. And that tore up J.D. Tore him up real bad. I think that's when he really changed, you know?"

"No I don't know but I find it all extremely interesting." Luke had to admit.

Jesse smiled and nodded. "I suppose you do. Anyway, as I'm sure you can figure out, Bo arrived a bit later, a little earlier than one would expect."

"And they actually let Boss know that Bo was his?" Luke asked in shock.

"Not until J.D. threatened to kick them out of their house. Even back then, he seemed to own everything. Knowing that Bo was his was the only thing that kept a roof over their head. He even waived their mortgage payments, if you can believe that."

"Boss giving up money? That IS hard to believe." Luke admitted. "And Uncle Matthew just accepted Bo as his?"

"Oh yes. He was Olivia's youngin' and that was enough. And then, there was the fire. Your Aunt Mary and I were babysitting the three of you while your parents were at the party. Overnight, we became the parents."

"You mean Boss knew that Bo was his and he let you keep him?" Luke asked.

"Well, it's a little more complicated than that. You see, I knew Bo wasn't really my nephew but I loved him just the same, and I sure didn't want to see no baby raised by J.D. Hogg. But I just didn't know how I would manage to keep him until I uncovered the fraud."

"Oh this just gets better and better." Luke said.

"You see, Boss owned the hall that caught on fire. He had some insurance on it, but not a lot. You kids' parents all had their life insurance through the same company and when I was down at the office one day, I found out that J.D. was about to successfully cash in a much bigger policy than he had drawn."

"How did you find out? What did you do?"

"I don't remember exactly how I found out, but I called him on it. I told him I'd turn him in, have him arrested. Unless……"

"Unless he left Bo with you." Luke finished.

Jesse nodded his head. "J.D. never told no one that that baby was his, except for Big Daddy, and that fake policy is what made J.D. the rich man he is today." He smiled. "I tried to be fair, though. I took you kids over to visit J.D. when you were all little, because no matter how I felt about the matter, I thought J.D. at least had a right to know his youngin'. But as you can imagine Bo didn't see him every day and wasn't used to him, so he got to where he would cry for me whenever I took you all over there. Now that upset J.D. real bad. Although it was illogical, he took Bo's rejection real personal. I guess it reminded him of Olivia. He finally got to the point where it seemed as if he resented Bo, maybe even hated him."

As Luke sat with crossed arms taking it all in, Jesse continued. "If you'll notice, whenever you boys get in trouble, J.D. always picks at Bo a little bit more. I think that's why. J.D.'s still stuck on the rejection."

It was almost 1:00 when Bo walked up from the darkness."

"Bo! Thank God! Are you alright?" Jesse asked.

Bo entered the house with very tired eyes. "I'm fine, Jesse. I just came to get my things."

"Your things? What are you talking about son?"

"I'm movin' out Jesse. I ain't a Duke and I don't belong here no more."


	7. Chapter 7

(OK folks, I know where I'm going with this story but getting there can be quite a challenge. I just had to say chapter 7 was a PAIN! It was written and rewritten many times over and still I'm not 100 happy with the turnout. However, I'm tired and want to move on. I just want to thank you for the applause in your reviews so far and I encourage you to point out any inconsistencies in the chapter that I may have overlooked. I am more than willing to submit a chapter revision if anything is found. We writers can use a proofreader every now and then. Thanks!)

"Bo, let's talk about this." Luke attempted as he followed his cousin who made a beeline for his bedroom. Uncle Jesse wasn't far behind.

"I don't want to talk no more, Luke. For years no one's had anything to say to me until today and after all I've heard, I'm afraid to find out anything else. If it keeps up my Mom may turn out to be an alien or something."

Now it was Luke's turn to hold back a smile. "Okay. Look, it's late, we're all tired and…."

"……and you don't look so good." Uncle Jesse finished, moving forward to feel Bo's forehead. "Boy, you're runnin' a fever. You're flushed too."

"I'll be alright." Bo replied, moving Jesse's hand away. "Besides I ain't your problem anymore. I'll just get my stuff and be out of your way."

"Now you listen to me, Beauregard." Jesse said firmly. "I know you've been dealt a low blow today, but you're the same person you was yesterday and the day before. When you're in my house, you'll do what I say, and I say to git ready for bed and git in it.. Ain't nobody goin' nowhere tonight, especially in your condition. Understand?"

"Yes sir." Bo replied. He sighed and began to get undressed, too tired and weak to argue. Luke, who was just glad he was home, decided not to aggravate the situation with words and did the same.

Moments later, after the boys were in bed, Uncle Jesse arrived with some of his best shine. It had set under the sink for years, taken out on occasion to cure illnesses, cuts, and bruises. The concoction had successfully kept many a friends and family members out of Doc Applebee's office over the years.

He poured a shot for Bo and commanded him to drink it. Bo did so and lay back, falling asleep almost instantly. Jesse and Luke looked at each other and sighed in relief. Jesse then poured a rare sip for himself and for Luke. "If ever we deserved a drink, it's now." Jesse confirmed as he downed a shot with his nephew. He then took the bottle back to the kitchen and placed it under the sink before going to bed, welcoming a restful sleep thanks to the effect of the alcohol.

Although it had been a late night for the family, the rooster was right on schedule as he began crowing at 5:30 the next morning. Jesse woke up, intent on feeding the livestock himself although it was normally the boys' job. He thought they deserved the rest.

Two hours later after the animals had been fed, some clothes had been hung to dry, and breakfast had been made, Luke emerged from the bedroom.

"Uncle Jesse, why didn't you wake me up? I could have helped with the chores." Luke scolded his uncle.

"I suppose, but I thought after yesterday you could use some sleep."

"Well you're right about that." Luke replied. "I'm glad Bo's feeling better, anyway."

"Oh? Did his fever break?" Jesse asked.

Luke looked at his Uncle. "Jesse, I assumed he was doing chores. He wasn't in bed when I woke up."

Surprised, Jesse rushed to the boys bedroom as if he had to see Bo's empty bed for himself. He then checked the bathroom and the rest of the house. He knew not to check outside because he had been there all morning and hadn't seen Bo.

Luke emerged from their bedroom which he had checked thoroughly. "Uncle Jesse, the suitcase is gone along with most of Bo's stuff. Looks like he took off last night."

Uncle Jesse sighed, his hair turning grayer by the minute. "Well, let's get some breakfast then go looking for him. I ain't done talkin' to that boy yet."

Meanwhile Boss Hogg arrived at the county jail to find Bo Duke sprawled across the steps, asleep. He got out of his car and smiled smugly. "Well well well, ain't that just like a Duke? Drunk and passed out first thing in the morning, and on the jail steps as if he were begging to be put behind bars. Ernest!" He shouted to his driver. "Go down to the newspaper office and tell Mark to git over here. I have a great picture for the front page."

"Boss." Bo stretched as he attempted to wake up. "You ain't never caught a Duke drunk nowhere and you know it!."

"Tell your story to the newspaper." Boss said harshly.

"Okay." Bo agreed. "We'll both tell our version to the newspaper. Then they'll splice our stories together and put out an article about how the county commissioner's son ended up drunk on the jail steps."

Boss grunted and quickly placed his cigar in his mouth. He then quickly turned around and looked to see if anyone had heard them. He spied Mark and Earnest quickly running up, Mark snapping pictures all the way.

"NO no no no no!" Boss shouted, rushing down the steps to Mark. "No pictures! Don't take no pictures!"

"But Boss, you said……."

"Never mind what I said." Boss said, jerking the camera out of his hand and removing the roll of film. "You didn't umm……….hear any of that conversation did you?"

"Well no, Boss. All Earnest said was that Bo was drunk and…."

"I have to apologize for my driver, Mark." Boss interrupted as Earnest stood dumbstruck in the background. "Earnest has been havin' some vision problems lately. I'm gonna have him set up an eye appointment with the doctor. Why, Bo is a good boy, he's not drunk. Now you take this $20.00 for your film and your time and we'll forget any of this ever happened."

"Oh…………okay Boss." Mark said, pocketing the money and going back to the newspaper office.

"Bo, let's go in my office where we can talk." Boss said, ushering Bo inside rather quickly.

"Mornin' Boss, Bo." Enos greeted them once they arrived inside. "You need me to lock him up Boss?" He asked, knowing Bo had never been to the jail without being in trouble.

"No, I want you to git in your car and go help Roscoe on patrol." Boss replied, letting go of Bo long enough to push Enos out the door.

"Who's gonna watch the jail, Boss?"

"What do you mean by that? There ain't nobody behind bars and if anyone comes along I'll take care of 'em. Now go!" Boss said, shoving Enos out the door and locking it.

"Sit down Bo." Boss said after he was sure Enos was gone.

"I'd rather stand, thank you." Bo replied.

Boss chose to sit on his desk, facing Bo. "I'd ask you what you was doin' sprawled out on my steps this morning but from what I heard, I imagine it's because Jesse Duke finally told you who you really were."

"He didn't say anything to me. I found something that said I was your…..son…" Bo struggled with the word. "…and Luke told me that Jesse confirmed the fact with him ."

"And you came this morning to ask _me_ if it was all true?" Boss pressed.

"Oh I know it's true. Uncle Jesse told it to be true and he don't lie. I came to ask….why? If you knew I was your son, why didn't you raise me?"

"Because Jesse didn't let me!" Boss fumed. He then told Bo how Olivia had told him that Bo was his son after she and Matthew had been together again for some time. He also said that Jesse was extremely jealous when Olivia had fallen in love with him after Matthews disappearance. "Jesse couldn't stand the idea of your mother being in love with me and not him. So after Matthew and Olivia got killed in that fire and it showed Matthew as your father on your birth certificate, I had no way of proving I was your Papa. So Jesse took advantage of the situation, claimed to be your uncle, and kept you. Not because he cared about you, but just to get even with me."

"Boss, I don't believe your story. First off, why would Jesse spend all these years raisin' and nursing and paying for someone he didn't really care about?"

Boss shrugged his shoulders. "Jealousy will make you do strange things."

"Second of all, Uncle Jesse couldn't have been interested in my mother in 1962. He was married to Aunt Mary at the time."

"Bo, you're old enough to know bein' married don't stop those kind of things from happening." Boss said, puffing on his cigar again.

Bo began to get mad. "My Uncle is an honest, God fearin' man and nothing you can say is gonna make me believe he had a 'thing' for my mother."

"Jesse Duke an honest man? The same man who tells you the truth and doesn't lie to you?" Bo sat with a hurt expression as Boss paced back and forth in front of him, his voice rising as he continued his rant. "I suppose this is the same man who asked you to call him 'Uncle' all these years. The same man who told you Daisy and Luke were your cousins, who told you that that pitiful little farm you were raised on was built by your great-grandfather. The same man who told you your daddy was cold and in the ground!"

He stopped and looked at Bo who had his head lowered, sniffing. He then sat down and put his arm around him. "Bo it's the truth. Now I ain't never told you the truth about who I was but I you gotta admit I ain't never lied to you about your family, not like that man you call Uncle." He looked at Bo. "What exactly did you read that told you who you were? Matthew's name is on your birth certificate."

"It…it was A letter my mother had written."

"I see." Boss said, standing up again. "You know, I'm glad this is all out now, glad. And you should be too. You know why? Because you have money now, my boy. Together we'll work to bring Frothy to Hazzard County and well make enough money that you can do anything you want. Enough money that you can buy anything you want, for anybody."

"Like….like buy the farm for Jesse?" Bo dared asked.

"I had a feelin' you might want that farm. But you don't have to buy it, I'll give it to you."

Bo almost had to laugh. "You, Boss Hogg, would give me the farm."

"Now I didn't say it was totally free. You see, I want that land real bad for Frothy. But if you could agree to help find another suitable piece of land for the place, and help to get it built, I don't see any reason why I can't sign that farm over to you right now."

"That sounds almost too good to be true." Bo admitted.

"Bo, you're my son, and we've missed too many years together. I'm happy to give you the farm if it means that you will come and be with me help me with the business." He finished by going to his safe and opening it up. Once he did so, he took out two envelopes and emptied the contents, pointing first to a contract. "This is the contract I signed to go into business with Frothy. If you will just sign below my name to show that you're going into business with me, I'll sign the farm over to you right now." He finished by holding up the deed to the farm.

"You mean I just gotta sign here right now and you'll give me the title to the farm?" Bo asked.

"Well, you'll get the title today, but I'll expect you here bright and early tomorrow to help me set up for Frothy."

"Well, Uncle Jesse always told me to read everything before I sign it, but seein' how I ain't got nothing' then I ain't got nothing' to loose." Bo said, taking a pen and signing the contract.

"Now I will sign this." Jesse said, signing over the deed to the Duke farm. He then gave the deed to Bo. "Now you go on and give that to Jesse and collect your things. I'll call home and have Lulu get a room ready for you. This is going to be the start of a new life for us, son."

Bo went to the door and turned around. "You know, I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe you're not such a bad person after all."

Boss smiled at him. "See you at supper tonight."

Bo closed the door as Boss sat at his desk, looking at the contract Bo had signed. It wasn't long before Roscoe came into the office.

"Boss, I couldn't believe my ears. I just saw Bo Duke outside and he was waving the deed to the Duke farm in my face, telling me you just signed it over to him."

"Yeah, I did." Boss laughed.

"But why? Why would you just give the farm away like that?"

"Because that farm ain't nothing but small potatoes. Besides, I didn't just give it away." He held the contract up and shook it at Roscoe. "He paid _dearly_ for it."


	8. Chapter 8

"You sure you ain't seen him Emery?" Luke asked Emery Potter as he leaned out the window of the General, talking to his neighbor who sat on the front porch.

"Sure ain't, Luke." I've been up since 6:00 this morning and I ain't seen none of yall's cars go by."

"Well, he didn't take any of the cars. He'd either be on foot or someone would have given him a ride."

"It don't matter." Emery replied. "Ain't nobody been by here today. You're first one I've seen."

"Much obliged, Emery. Give us a holler on the CB if you should see him." Luke said, waving as he drove away.

"Lost sheep calling Shepard." Luke said into the CB.

"Shepard here." Jesse replied from his pickup truck." Emery know anything?"

"Negative." Luke replied.

" Well, we've went full circle right back to the farm. The only place left to check is in town, although I can't imagine Bo confronting J.D. on this. Not yet anyway." Jesse mused.

"Town! He's probably staying at Cooter's Place. Why haven't we thought of that before?" Luke exclaimed, turning his CB to channel 47 along with Jesse. 47 was the channel Cooter stayed on most of the time. "Lost Sheep calling Crazy Cooter. Cooter, you out there?"

Cooter heard the call from near the motorcycle he was working on and rushed over to his CB. "Breaker one, breaker one, I might be crazy but I ain't dumb….Lukas, is this important? I was late to work this morning and I gotta get Ms. Tizdale on the road so she can get the mail out."

"Sort of. Yes." Luke replied. "Bo disappeared on us last night and we was wonderin' if you had seen him."

"No Luke, can't say as I have. Is he in some sort of trouble?" Cooter asked.

"I don't want to say too much over the 'net. But if you see him, will you please let us know?"

"I'll do better than that. Give me about five minutes and I'll help you look for him."

"We'd really appreciate that, Cooter."

"If you find him take him home and don't let him go nowhere until we get there!" Jesse broke in.

"Ten-four Uncle Jesse, over and out."

Uncle Jesse frowned as he looked at the CB, upset that Cooter had called him 'Uncle Jesse' but not in the mood to correct him this time.

"Cooter, did I hear Jesse say that Bo was in some sort of trouble?" Ms. Tizdale asked as Cooter kneeled beside her motorcycle again.

"Yeah, Ms. Tizdale. Seems Bo took off on them last night for some reason."

Ms. Tizdale sighed and looked like a teenager in love. "I can't imagine why anyone would want to run out on a man like Jesse Duke." She then suddenly looked angry. "'Course I imagine that Sarah Jones would agree with me."

"Ms. Tizdale, you know them rumors about Jesse and Sarah ain't true."

Ms. Tizdale brightened. "Cooter, you really think so? Oh I hope not. You know I been pinin' away for Jesse for quite some time now, even went over to Capitol City just last month to get me a new tube of red lipstick so I could fix up for him."

Cooter laughed. "Well Ms. Tizdale, you go ahead and put on that red lipstick if you want to, 'cause I talked to Sarah myself the other day and all she could talk about was how much she still missed Edward."

Ms. Tizdale giggled. "Oh, I wish I had time to help Jesse look for that boy today, but I'm already late on my deliveries."

"Wait a minute, Ms. Tizdale." Cooter thought of something. "You got any mail for the Tanner farm today?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Ms. Tizdale replied. "It'd really be a help if I didn't though, especially today. They live so far out that it saves half an hour on my route whenever they don't have anything."

"Well, it's a good thing that you do today 'cause the Tanner farm is right on the Chickasaw County line!"

Emma Tizdale's smile slowly disappeared. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well aren't you good friends with Bea Claiborne?"

"Yes, but…..oh!" Ms. Tizdale's brightened. Bea Claiborne was a Chickasaw County resident and Bo's aunt, the sister of his mother, Olivia. "But do you really think the boy may have gone there, I mean with his probation and everything……"

"I'd say if he's brave enough to run off on Jesse, he ain't gonna worry much about Roscoe P. Coltrane. Them boys may be grown but Jesse still keeps that belt hanging on the nail. Crossin' him takes guts."

Earlier an excited Bo Duke had just finished showing Roscoe the deed to the farm. He then dug his suitcase from the shrubbery near the steps and took it over to Cooter's Garage. "Cooter's runnin' late today." Bo thought as he found the door padlocked. There was no vehicle on the place and no access to the CB inside. Bo hadn't felt right taking the General, as it was half Luke's. Deciding that it was just as quick to walk cross country to the Duke farm as it was to beg for a ride, he stashed his suitcase under some old tires and took off. He hurriedly ran across the rear of Emery Potter's property, not knowing that at the same time Luke was questioning Emery on his whereabouts.

"Jesse, Luke!" Bo exclaimed as he entered the house, taking the chance that one of them might be home even though both the truck and the General were missing. He then went into the kitchen and picked up the CB. "Lost sheep calling Shepard. Lost she….." He stopped short when he realized he wasn't getting any feedback from the CB. He shook the wire and watched the dials light up and die back down several times before giving up. With no way of contacting Luke or Jesse, he shrugged his shoulders and went to his room to collect what remained of his things.

"Uncle Jesse, I'm getting hungry. Why don't we head back to the farm and grab a bite to eat." Luke called to his Uncle on the CB.

"We may as well. We've checked with everyone I know of except J.D. and I ain't talkin' to him until I've had a chance to sit down with Bo and get a better feel for the situation." Jesse replied.

"Ten-four." Luke said. On the way home, he decided to take a jump over the Mojabie river just for the fun of it. Unknown to him, he startled the same fisherman that Bo had frightened the day before. As the General flew over, the fisherman fell off the bridge into the river below. Bobbing to the surface, the fisherman then shook a fist once again in the General's direction.

Luke and Jesse arrived back at the farm at the same time. Luke tried to comfort his uncle who got out of the truck with his head lowered. "Cheer up, Jesse. Give Bo some time, it'll work out in the end."

"I hope your right." Jesse replied as he went in the house.

Both were surprised when they opened the door to the kitchen to find Bo standing there stirring a pot of food on the stove.

"Hey ya'll. Where have you been?" Bo greeted them.

"Where have we been? Out looking for you!" Jesse exclaimed. "What about you?"

"I've been here for about the last hour or so, Jesse." Bo replied.

"Well if you's here why didn't you call us on the CB?" Luke asked.

"Because it's busted. That wire has come loose again." Bo replied.

"What's this?" Luke asked, staring into the pot.

"This, my friend." Bo replied. "Is a celebration lunch."

"Oh I'm your friend now?" Luke replied, hurt that Bo had called him 'friend' instead of 'cousin' as he usually did.

"Yes, Luke, you'll always be my best friend. But I am not your cousin, and the sooner we all accept that the better off we will be."

Luke started to argue but Jesse, who had spotted the rest of Bo's things stacked in boxes, held up his hand. "Bo, where were you this morning?"

"Well, I went into town to give Boss Hogg a piece of my mind." Bo replied.

"Oh." Jesse replied, suddenly looking nervous. "And how did that go?"

Bo turned around from stirring and smiled. "Jesse, you will not believe how well it went. Once everything was out in the open it's like Boss turned into a totally different person. He accepts me and he wants me to be with him."

"Uh-huh." Jesse muttered as Bo began to ladle the chili out into bowls and set them on the table.

"As a matter of fact, he told me to come back here, pack up my stuff, and come to live with him in his house."

"He did what!" Jesse fumed.

"Jesse, I told you. He accepts me and he wants me in his home. I mean, I'm not really a Duke so I don't belong here."

"So is this what we're supposed to be celebrating? The fact that you're moving out?" Luke asked sternly.

"No." Bo said, smiling as he pulled out the deed and handing it to Jesse. "This is."

Jesse took out his reading glasses and examined the deed for a few moments. "How'd you get this?"

"Boss gave it to me." Bo replied.

"He just gave it to you? That don't sound like J.D. to me."

"Well he did. He said he was going into business with Frothy and if I would just help him find some land for the business and work with him to bring it to Hazzard that he would give me the farm."

Bo became frustrated when Jesse and Luke stood staring at the deed for a long time without speaking. "Well don't you have anything to say? You don't have to move. Heck, you don't even have to make mortgage payments anymore! I thought you'd be happy."

"Bo…" Luke began. "You ain't no businessman."

"Well, I know that, but I ain't doin' it by myself. Boss will be there to help me. Besides, I don't suppose I can get out of it now. I signed a contract this morning saying I would help him."

"A contract?" Jesse asked. "What exactly did you sign?"

"Well I'm not sure of the details, because I didn't read it."

"Bo, I've always told you not to sign anything until you've read it." Jesse scolded.

"Well I know, Jesse, but I didn't have anything to loose. Besides, how bad could it be? He gave me the farm, didn't he?"

"I'm sorry boy but I smell a rat." Jesse said, walking toward the door.

"Where you going?" Luke asked.

"I'm going down to J.D.'s office to find out what's going on." Jesse replied, throwing on his red hat.

"Wait, Jesse. Please don't mess this up. Boss, he accepts me and….and the farm is yours. I'm not seeing a problem here."

"The problem is, I'm losing you!" Jesse shouted, immediately looking as if he were sorry he had said it. "Look, I'm not trying to bust your bubble. You's so tore up yesterday I'm just glad to see you smiling again. But I've known J.D. a lot longer than you and I'm not gonna feel good about this until I know everything for myself."

Bo grabbed Jesse's arm. "Jesse, let me handle it, please."

Jesse looked at Bo's hand on his arm. "Either you let me go right now or…." he finished by looking at the belt that hung on the nail. Bo let him go in a hurry. "Keep him here." He ordered Luke as he jumped in his pickup truck and took off.

It wasn't long before Jesse arrived at the jail.. As usual he bypassed Enos and Roscoe and stormed into Boss's office unannounced.

"Jefferson, what's going on here?" The stranger asked who sat in the chair opposite Boss.

"J.D., I want to talk to you." Jesse began.

"Oh, forget him, Oliver. Roscoe!" Boss called. Roscoe rushed in with a corndog in one hand. "Would you please escort Mr. Duke from my office?"

"Duke? Would that be Jesse Duke?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, that's me." Jesse replied as Boss snapped his fingers in frustration.

"I've been trying to call you for days. I'm Oliver Kane from Atlanta, lawyer to Jefferson Hogg Sr." He said, standing to shake Jesse's hand. "Are you aware that you were named as the executor to Mr. Hogg's estate?"

"Yes, I'm aware." Jesse replied.

"Then please sit down, Mr. Duke." He said, waving Roscoe away before digging in his briefcase for some papers. "As you may know, Mr. Hogg left a will behind distributing his estate. This of course simplifies things a great deal, meaning your job as executor has more or less been reduced to signing this paper acknowledging that the signature you see on the will matches that of Jefferson Hogg Sr." He finished by slapping an acknowledgement in front of Jesse and handing him a pen.

"If you will give me a moment, Mr. Kane, I would like to look over the will before I sign anything." Jesse announced, getting his glasses out again.

"Now now, Jesse." Boss began, coming around the desk. "I thought we talked about this yesterday. Their ain't no heir but me and……."

"………Bo." Jesse finished, looking up at Boss. "This here will says that Bo Duke is heir to half of the Hogg estate. 1.5 million dollars!"

"Not exactly, Mr. Duke." Oliver broke in.

"Well it seems that way to me." Jesse pointed to Big Daddy's signature. "That signature's an exact match of J.D.'s father, and Beauregard Duke is named right here in the will." He finished, moving his finger up to Bo's name."

"Yes, but you see," Oliver began, pulling out the contract Bo had signed that morning. "Beauregard signed his inheritance over to J.D."


	9. Chapter 9

"Mr. Kane, could you excuse us a few moments?" Jesse asked, never taking his eyes off Boss.

The lawyer, sensing the growing tension in the room, gathered up all of his paperwork and hurried out.

"Now Jesse, don't take this the wrong way…." Boss began.

"You low down dirty…….rat." Jesse began. "One thing you can thank your lucky stars for is that I am a God fearin' man, because that ain't what I truly wanted to say!"

"Jesse…."

Jesse pointed out the window in the direction of the farm. "I just left a boy who was completely changed from yesterday, 'cause you see yesterday he was so upset to find out J.D. Hogg was his father that he couldn't even face us for awhile. And today he's so excited to have a father who…" Jesse put his fingers up as if he were making quotation marks. " 'loves' and 'accepts' him that he can't even see straight. And that is the same boy who, despite your wealth, you haven't even cared enough about all these years to give him two nickels to rub together!"

"Jesse…."

"And here your father had the good sense to realize all this, and took the opportunity to give Bo what he's truly deserved all these years, and you take that away from him too!"

"Jesse, you're taking this all wrong!" Boss began, finally being allowed to speak.

"Oh? Please explain to me how I've misjudged you." Jesse said, sitting down and crossing his arms.

"Look, we both know that Bo ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, if you know what I mean." Boss began, grabbing a cigar out of his box. "It never was my intention to take the money from him and leave him empty handed. I thought it would be much better for me to….invest in some things that would yield a steady profit for him in the future."

"Let me guess. Frothy brewing company?" Jesse asked.

"Well, yeah." Boss replied.

"Mr. Kane!" Jesse yelled, causing Boss to jump. Mr. Kane rushed back into the room. "I'm glad you've called me back, gentlemen. I'm due in court in Atlanta at 3:00 p.m. and really need to wrap things up." He pulled the acknowledgement from his briefcase and slapped it in front of Jesse again. "Now if you will just sign, Mr. Duke….."

"I have a problem Mr. Kane." Jesse interrupted.

"A problem with the will?"

"No." Jesse replied. "A problem with the form that Bo signed. You see, I'm certain that he didn't know what he was signing"

"Oh that." Oliver replied. "I'm afraid there's nothing that I can do about that, Mr. Duke. Any grievances you wish to file concerning the transition form will have to be done through the district judge."

"And he only comes around these parts once a month." Jesse mused.

"If you don't mind a trip, Mr. Duke, I know for a fact that Judge Wright is holding court today in Chickasaw County. Perhaps you could go over there and speak to him."

"I might just do that. I'd thank you to make copies of the will and the transition form, Mr. Kane."

"I'll do that as you sign the confirmation." Oliver replied, looking at his watch.

Jesse signed the confirmation only to have it quickly snatched away by the time-pressed lawyer. He then handed Jesse the copies he had made. "I'll be back in my office this evening Mr. Hogg. If all goes well, the money transfer should take place tomorrow morning."

"Fine, fine." Boss replied as he exited the office. On his heels was Jesse.

"Wait, Jesse, wait! Where are you going?" Boss asked.

"Where do you think I'm going J.D.? I'm going into Chickasaw County to talk to Judge Wright."

Boss became angry. "Well you go ahead, Jesse Duke. You convince the judge why he should throw out a perfectly legal document. Furthermore, go back to your ramshackle farm and tell Bo your version of everything that just happened here. If the last two days are anything like you've said, I'm sure it will be just what he needs to hear."

"J.D.!" Jesse began, coming up quick to the short, heavyset man. Boss quickly pulled Roscoe in front of him, who quickly pulled Enos in front of him. "If you do the slightest thing to prevent me and my boys from goin' into Chickasaw to talk to the judge, so help me…." He wiggled his finger at Boss before exiting the office.

Outside, Jesse muttered to himself as he made his way to the pickup truck. He climbed inside and unsuccessfully tried to start it.

As he continued to try the ignition, Cooter pulled up in his tow truck and blew the horn. "Hey Jesse. I've looked all over for Bo but haven't had any luck. You?"

Jesse slapped the steering wheel in frustration. "He was at the house the whole time. Can you believe it? I've ran out of gas."

"Well you're talkin' to the right person. I'll grab the gas can and get enough for you to pull over to the station and fill up."

Jesse waved his suggestion away. "No I don't have time for all that. You need to give me a ride back to the farm." He ended by exiting his truck and climbing into the passenger seat of Cooter's before the mechanic had a chance to argue,

Cooter shrug his shoulders and began to drive. "Since we have a little time, maybe you can let me in on what's been happening around here."

Jesse filled Cooter in on everything that had come out in the last two days. Cooter let out a low whistle. "You gonna tell Bo what you just found out?"

"Not 'till he's in the back of the General with it in high gear. I'll not have him runnin' off on me again."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe it. Everything seemed to be going so well." Bo sighed as he walked down the stairs of the Chickasaw County Courthouse. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes…."

The 'it' he was referring to was the will and transition form that Jesse had copied for him. He had read and re-read the forms as he sat in the back of the General as Luke drove them to Chickasaw County at lightning speed.

The news in Chickasaw wasn't much of an improvement over that which they had already heard that day. District Judge Wright asked Bo if he had signed the form, which he had to admit. The Judge then explained that while he felt for Bo, the law would rule in favor of the transfer and Bo's argument that he hadn't read the form wouldn't stand.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do now." Bo agonized once they were back in the General and on the way home. "He's still my father but…but he framed me."

The trio rode in silent thought for a few moments when they were nearly sideswiped by a speeding motorcycle. Luke slammed on the breaks as did the motorcycle driver, who somehow managed to remain upright despite the near collision.

As the dust settled, Luke got out of the car and walked over to the motorcycle driver. "Look fella, you need to be more careful on these roads."

The driver removed 'his' helmet and Luke was surprised to find himself staring at Emma Tisdale. "Sorry Luke. I'd never do anything to endanger you, and especially not your Uncle Jesse." She finished by winking at Jesse, who simply offered her a slight smile and wave.

"No harm done, I suppose." Luke continued. "But why are you in Chickasaw County anyway? I thought you's delivering mail over in Hazzard today."

"Well, I was coming to look for you, actually." Ms. Tizdale replied.

"What did you want with us?" Jesse asked.

"Well, Cooter told me this morning that Bo was missing, and since no one could find him I thought I'd check with his Aunt Bea. Well, you know how Bea is. She's powerful worried about Bo and wanted me to come fetch you so she could find out what was goin' on. She'd come herself if she weren't bedridden."

"Well, Bo's just fine, as you can see, so please slow down." Luke encouraged her.

"I can't, Luke. I'm REALLY behind on my deliveries now! If you don't mind, I might make your house my last delivery. I might be there around 9:00, 9:30, you know, just when the fireflies come out and the porch is cool enough to set out on a comfortable swing and talk." She finished by winking at Jesse and kicking her motorcycle into gear. The Dukes stared as she sped off in the distance.

"Well, while we're here we might as well put Bea's mind at ease." Jesse said as Luke climbed back in.

"Can't we just call her on the C.B., Uncle Jesse?" Luke asked.

Jesse shook his head. "Bea never has and never will have a C.B. in her house. She thinks they're too modern."

The boys managed a laugh as Luke backed up and took the route to Bea's house.

Jesse and Luke were the first to enter Bea's house. "Jesse! Luke! I'm so glad to see you. I heard Bo was missing and…"

She stopped short when Bo walked through the door. "Bo! Thank goodness! You tried to scare your Aunt Bea into an early grave. Come over here and give me a hug."

Bo went over and received a tight squeeze from his Aunt. After, her expression changed from sentimental to stern. "I'd expect at your age you'd understand you're too old to run away and give everyone the fit that you did. Do you mind explaining to me what is going on?"

Bo struggled to explain the events of the past two days to his Aunt, wiping away the occasional tear.

"J.D. Hogg your father? That's nonsense Bo, pure nonsense."

"I don't think so, Aunt Bea. Not according to the letter my mother wrote."

"What letter? I'd like to know what this letter says." Bea replied.

"Well that's simple enough. I still have it here in my shirt pocket." Luke announced, pulling out the letter."

"You'll have to read it to me, Luke. My eyesight isn't so good anymore." Bea revealed.

"No problem." Luke replied. Dear Family:

As you know, Matthew and I have ran into some trouble keeping up with our mortgage payments this year. The crops are not doing as well as we have expected and as you can imagine with Matthew having just returned from the service less than a year ago, it takes some time to get things up and going the way they used to be. Add a new mouth to feed to the above situation and it gets even worse.

Jefferson is really bearing down on us for the payments. It's gotten so bad that if we don't have the payment in by noon on the due date, he threatens foreclosure. I know this is all because he is upset about what happened, and he is taking it out on me any way he can. I also know that we are not going to have the payment in on time this month..

As bad as I hate to, I'm going to have to tell Jefferson that Bo is his child. I feel it is our only way out as even Jefferson wouldn't be cruel enough to cast out his own son.

I am asking all of you for your understanding. Matthew and I love the baby so much and only hope that this doesn't backfire and cause Jefferson to fight for Bo. I feel the fact that he is running for county commissioner this year will cause him to keep quiet about this situation, as news such as this have cost many men an election.

Bea remained silent for a few minutes. "That sounds just like the letter I got all those years ago, Luke."

"You mean you knew about this?" Bo asked, hurt even further.

"At least I'm pretty sure it's the same letter. Finish it, Luke." Bea ordered.

Luke looked at the back of the letter as if words would appear. "I can't, Bea, that's it."

Be paused for a moment, "Jesse, could you hand me that Bible?" Bea asked, pointing to an oversized family Bible on a bureau near the bed.

Jesse handed her the Bible which she thumbed through until she ran across a yellowed envelope. "I think this is it." She said, handing the envelope to Jesse.

Jesse examined the envelope which bore Olivia's return address. He opened it up and pulled out the yellowed paper. The writing matched what Luke had just read.

"Wait a minute!" Jesse exclaimed in surprise. "There's another page here!"

"Well read it Jesse." Bo exclaimed as the boys stood to look over his shoulder.

Jesse cleared his throat and began to read aloud:

I also ask that you keep this as quiet as possible. Matthew is so proud of his son, and it's killing him that I'm having to make up this lie about Bo's paternity just to keep a roof over our heads. The less people that know about this, the better. As you can imagine, he's afraid some will believe the lie, as Bo was born premature.

With Love,

Olivia


	10. Chapter 10

At the conclusion of the reading, the reaction in the room was mixed. Luke looked visibly relieved. Bo appeared happy, but afraid to believe the letter as he didn't want to go through the heartache of loosing his identity as a Duke again should it turn out to be false. The only thing that took away from Jesse's expression of shock was the slight smile of realization on his face. Finally Bea appeared amazed that any of the Dukes had believed the nonsense for one second.

"All these years." Jesse smiled. "All these years I thought Bo was…..and here it turns out he really is Matthew's boy!" Jesse couldn't resist standing to give Bo a hug, which Bo returned enthusiastically.

"What I can't believe is that you assumed I wasn't your kin…." Bo began. "Yet you cared enough about me to raise me anyway, and no different from Luke or Daisy."

Jesse smiled. "Bo, knowing that you really are my nephew makes this one of the happiest days of my life, but it does not and can not make me love you any more."

"Jesse…..I don't know what to say." Bea began. "Why if I had the slightest clue that you thought that Bo wasn't……I mean, he's got Matthew's eyes I thought anyone could see that!"

"He does, but….well they resemble J.D.'s too!"

"What difference does it make? The important thing is we've read the other page of the letter and that explains the whole story. Bo is truly a Duke and NOT a Hogg!" Luke confirmed, bringing everything into perspective.

The Dukes spent some more time visiting with Bea before finally bidding her goodbye and returning to the General. Once inside, they headed straight home where Bo's leftover lunch chili was combined with a skillet of Jesse's cornbread for supper.

"What we still have to do…" Luke said, biting a piece of cornbread "….is get even with Boss for stealing Bo's money."

"What for?" Bo asked. "The judge said there's nothing we can do to get it back. Besides, seeing how I'm not related to Boss in the first place, I don't reckon I'm entitled to that money anyway."

Luke shook his head. "Both of you read that will. What exactly did it say?"

"Well, it said that the Jefferson Hogg fortune was to be split 50/50 between J.D. and Bo here." Jesse confirmed as Bo nodded.

"I know, but how did it word it exactly?"

"Well, I don't know. Look for yourself. Copy's still out in the General."

Luke excused himself from the table and went out to the General to retrieve the copy of the will. He returned to the kitchen where he sat reading a few moments before slapping the page. "Just as I thought!"

"What is it?" Bo asked.

"This here will says that the money was left to Bo Duke, not Big Daddy's grandson or anything like that, just to you."

"So what?" Bo asked.

"It means that that you have every right to claim that money." Luke smiled.

Bo looked at his cousin as if he had bean vines growing out of his ears. "Luke, I thought we just talked this over. The judge said their ain't nothing we can do to get it back."

"There may not be anything we can do to get it back." Luke smiled. "But that's not to say you don't have the right to influence what's done with it. I know you think you don't have a right to that money, but as far as Boss is concerned you ARE his son. Is it right for him to take the money from his own son?"

"What are you suggesting, Luke?" Jesse asked.

"I'm suggesting…." Luke smiled mischievously. "That Bo show up at the jail tomorrow morning, bright and early, ready to work for his daddy."

"What!" Bo exclaimed.

"Just listen." Bo and Jesse sat with wide eyed interest as Luke outlined the plan.

The next morning, Boss opened the door to his office. Facing away from him turned toward Boss's desk was a well dressed, neatly groomed young man.

"Excuse me." Boss said, hoping the man would turn around so Boss could question his business there.

The man turned around and Boss's mouth opened in surprise, depositing the remaining half of his cigar on the floor at his feet. "Bo Duke!"

"I believe that would be Bo Hogg, wouldn't it Daddy?" Bo replied, walking over and picking up the cigar that he stuffed back between Boss's lips. "Errr, you don't mind if I call you Daddy, do you?"

"Umm…" Boss said, shaking his head to come out of his shock. "No, I mean yes….I mean, of course I don't, but not right now. Not until we get folks around here used to the idea. The names 'Hogg' and 'Duke' never have mixed well in these parts, kinda like oil and water. You know what I mean?"

"Whatever you say Daddy, I mean Boss." Bo replied, slapping Boss's back a couple of times. He then turned his attention to adjusting his tie. "Sorry I missed supper last night, but I had to go check on my Aunt Bea. Do you think this getup looks okay? Ain't much need for stuff like this on a farm."

"You look…..fine. But what's the occasion?" Boss asked.

"I figured I needed to keep up my end of the bargain. Isn't today the day we meet with the Frothy Brewing executives?"

"It is. It is." Boss confirmed. His face then registered surprise. "Wait a minute, does this mean….that your Uncle Jesse really didn't tell you what happened here yesterday? That you didn't go to Chickasaw County?"

"Chickasaw County?" Bo asked innocently.. "Well yeah we went to Chickasaw County yesterday to see about my Aunt Bea."

"But you didn't go to court there?"

"Why would I go to court there? Was something wrong concerning the farm deed? Uncle Jesse didn't say anything to me." Bo replied in his continued feigned innocence.

"Oh no no!" Boss replied, smiling, "Nothing with the farm deed. Why if Jesse didn't say anything I guess it's not worth mentioning. Yes, the Frothy Brewing representatives are showing up today."

"Oh good." Bo replied, satisfied that Boss still believed he hadn't a clue about the will. "I take it the first order of business is to find a location for the project."

Boss's eyebrow shot up. "You're right. You remember what I said yesterday. It is vital that we find a piece of land that the representatives are satisfied with, otherwise they will scrap the whole project. As you can imagine, it's not easy to get a business such as that in Hazzard , being that their ain't no major Interstate highways in the county."

"Oh, I've already been looking around." Bo replied with a smile. "I have a piece of property in mind that I guarantee the executives will love!"

"Oh, is that so?" Boss replied as there was a knock on the door. Without waiting for a reply, Enos opened the door and stepped inside.

"Sorry to interrupt Mr. Hogg, but Mr. Harold Steelman and Mr. William Harris of Frothy Brewing Company are here to see you.

"Good!" Boss brightened, then turned sour. "Well what are you waiting for numb skull? Send them in!"

Harris and Steelman, a middle aged pair who seemed bothered by the whole affair, hurried in with briefcases in hand already staring at their watches. "Hogg." Steelman began. "Since we entered Hazzard County 20 minutes ago, the 'quick route' to town that you gave in your directions has consisted of two lane winding country roads with 30 m.p.h. speed limits."

"Yes, We can tell you up front it is going to take some _real _convincing on your part to explain how a facility in this county would be a good investment for Frothy. One of the most important considerations in location is ease of access!" Harris finished.

"But but but but….." Boss stuttered as Bo stepped up. "Gentlemen, I'm sorry you were delayed. Let me introduce myself. My name is Bo Duke. I'm Mr. Hogg's…." He looked at Boss who wore a slight frown on his face "….assistant."

"Look Mr. Duke, I'm afraid we don't have much time for formalities. Our time is very important and has already been somewhat compromised by the road trip itself." Steelman insisted.

"I understand. You're here to select a location, to see the best that Hazzard has to offer." Bo began as he folded his arms and began to walk about the office as if he were trying to draw a mental picture for his audience. "Would it save you any time to see just one place? I happen to know the perfect location and can guarantee that if you are not satisfied with this property that you would be wasting your time exploring other areas of the county." He finished by stopping with his back toward the window and placed his hands behind him. What the other occupants of the office didn't see was the thumbs up sign he made with his hand. Cooter, watching from his garage, slid off of the car on which he sat and gave a shrill whistle in the direction of the jailhouse door. Luke, who stood there, waved an acknowledgement.

"Now now Bo. Let's not be hasty." Boss said, running to his desk to pull out a county map. "We don't want to force these gentlemen into a yes or no decision based on one property."

"Actually, I don't think it would hurt to just see this property Mr. Duke is speaking about." Mr. Harris stated. "I imagine with the amount of money you are investing in the project, your assistant would be very careful in his selection."

All four turned their attention to the door when Luke rushed in. "Boss, I gotta talk to you."

"Can't you see I'm in a meeting." Boss growled as he sensed the growing frustration in the Frothy executives.

"I'm sorry, but it's Lulu, I think something's wrong with her."

"Now what would you know about Lulu? She's at home. You snoopin' around my house for some reason?" Boss asked, still wary of the Dukes after the events of the former two days.

"Who has to snoop? I can hear her, the whole town hears her. Sounds kinda like she's moanin' in pain or something." Luke insisted. "I think you better get over there right away."

"Lulu!" Boss exclaimed. He rushed toward the door then turned around quickly. "I'll be right back." He raced as fast as his portly body would carry him out of the jail. Hearing his sister's name had Roscoe on Boss's trail as well as Enos who was fond of Mrs. Hogg.

Boss arrived outside and could clearly hear a female voice screaming from the direction of his house. He raced home followed by Hazzard's finest amid townfolk who stopped to stare or turned to whisper to each other.

"Looks like he's buying it so far." Jesse commented as he walked up beside Cooter. He turned toward the jail and watched as Bo hurried out with the Frothy executives, where they piled into a limo. After they had driven away, he began to walk towards Boss's house along with Luke and Cooter. When they neared it, they spied Emma Tisdale emerging from some shrubbery near the house.

"Thanks, Ms. Tisdale, we really appreciate that." Luke said as the elderly lady met up with them.

"You're welcome, Luke. I have to admit no one has ever asked me to hide somewhere and scream before. Course I didn't go makin' my throat all sore for a simple thank you." She replied, staring dreamily at Jesse.

Jesse sighed. "Alright. I'll come over to your house for supper tonight."

"9:30 too late?" She smiled.

"Uh, a little." Jesse replied. "It's close to my bedtime."

"I guess I'll just have to fix up my guest room then, won't I?" Ms. Tizdale giggled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe it, Roscoe. I can't believe Bo managed to pull all of this off by himself." Boss laughed two weeks later as he and Rosco stood in an open meadow in the countryside. But they were not alone. Half of the population of Hazzard County was there right along with them. A country band played as the folks danced and helped themselves to refreshments from a cart as they awaited the ceremony.

Eventually, Mr. Steelman climbed up onto the back of a flatbed truck which served as a stage. Behind him was Mr. Harris and a large rectangular shaped sign which was covered by a sheet..

"Ladies and Gentlemen." Mr. Steelman began. I have a confession to make. Two weeks ago when Mr. Harris and I rolled into Hazzard County, we saw absolutely no potential for Frothy to, well, to be willing to put their name on anything here. But thanks to the generous investment of J.D. Hogg, and to Bo Duke, who selected this land and helped us to see the potential for it, I'm proud to announce that Frothy is very excited to be coming to Hazzard."

As the crowd cheered, Roscoe leaned over to Boss. "Who would have thought they would like this land? It's mountainous and I thought the lake and river would have gotten in the way."

"Who cares? Point is, they liked it, and I'm going to be rich!" Boss laughed, puffing on his cigar.

Roscoe shook his head again as Flash, who sat on his lap, barked. "I agree with you. Bo sure has to be a lot smarter than he seems to organize all this."

"Course he's smart. Runs in the family." Boss confirmed.

"You think the Dukes is smart?" Roscoe asked. He was shushed by Boss as Mr. Harris stepped up to the microphone.

"This project is in line with the expanded market soley inhabited by our top rival Anheiser Busch. And while we would love to hold the shovels in this groundbreaking ceremony, we thought it would be proper to hand them over to the men who made all of this possible. Ladies?"

Harris motioned to four pretty young women who each carried a golden shovel to the front of the flatbed trailer. He then motioned for Boss and Bo to step forward and take a shovel. They did so and Bo motioned to Mr. Harris that he wanted the microphone, which Harris handed down to him.

"While I appreciate the honor given to me by Mr. Harris and Mr. Steelman here, I have to admit I got a little help from my family, and I think they should have a part in the ceremony too. Uncle Jesse? Luke? Where are you?"

A surprised Luke and Jesse emerged from the crowd and took the remaining two shovels. A number of photographers immediately set up in front of them. The four were then shown how to stand and instructed to insert their shovels in the ground only when the sign on the trailer was unveiled.

"Okay gentlemen, on the count of three. One….two….three!" Mr. Steelman said. At the count of three he and Harris removed the sheet from the sign and the Dukes and Boss inserted the shovels in the ground while smiling for the photographers. The crowd cheered and jumped up and down, that is, all except for Roscoe. He kept saying "Oooh! oooh!" and pointing to the sign. This brought the attention of Boss who turned around and gasped.

The sign read. 'FUTURE HOME OF FROTHY MEADOWS, CAMP FOR DISABLED CHILDREN, A NON-PROFIT ESTABLISHMENT'


	11. Chapter 11

"A NON PROFIT ESTABLISHMENT!" Boss fumed. His words were drown out by the cheering crowd. With an angry expression, he stuffed his cigar in his mouth and charged toward Bo.

"Mr. Hogg!" Howard Steelman shouted, stopping Boss in his tracks. The tall Frothy executive charged toward J.D. with a stern look on his face. "As you know, we didn't come to Hazzard County with the intent to construct a camp. I expect an explanation for all of this."

"It….it it wasn't me, it was the boy!" Boss began fumbling with words as he pointed in Bo's direction. "It was never my idea to put in a camp here. I promise you, we do have a wonderful piece of land in the county for a manufacturing plant." He began to speak loudly enough for Bo to hear as he, Jesse, and Luke approached the pair. "It's currently known as the Duke farm, and I can get you the rights to that land. I promise!"

"So, you're not responsible for any of this?" Mr. Steelman pressed.

"No, not at all!" Boss confirmed. He then walked around Mr. Steelman and grabbed Bo by the arm, dragging him to the side to talk in private. "How dare you do this? How dare you throw away all of my money on some non-profit organization?"

"It's for crippled kids, Daddy!" Bo exclaimed.

"Did you hear what you just said? You said 'Daddy'. I am your father, I should mean more to you than anyone. Anyone in the whole wide world, and you throw away my money!"

"First of all, I don't think it was _your _money. I found out from a very reliable source that it was _our_ money. Second of all, I didn't just _throw_ it away. Third, if you are supposed to mean so much to me because you are my father, then it only makes sense that I should mean a lot to you because I am your son, so why haven't you been there for me all these years?"

"Now you listen here, this ain't about us. If your share of that money isn't even considered, you have still just cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now you do whatever it takes to get that money back for me, or……"

"Or what?" Bo asked.

"Or we're through! I'll wash my hands of you! You'll never be my son!"

Bo raised the corner of one side of his mouth into a slight smirk. The old "Boss" was back, and as strong as ever. "Unlike some people." He began. "I never take what isn't rightfully mine."

He stepped around a befuddled Boss to rejoin Mr. Steelman. Boss rushed up beside him. "Mr. Steelman, let me explain. The boy is not a very good businessman. He had no idea that we couldn't possible afford to put such a sizeable investment into a non-profit organization. We'll be broke in a week!"

Mr. Steelman smiled. " Surely you realize I was joking, Mr. Hogg. I was scolding you for not introducing this idea to me earlier in the game. You should have more faith in your assistant. Frothy had always hoped to build a theme park such as Busch Gardens to increase revenue. There's no better way to promote your company than to offer your product to people who are having fun at the same time. Unfortunately, the money to get a project such as that off the ground was just never there. A non profit camp is an ingenious idea. It's will be a firm establishment that we can promote heavily, and get the same amount of advertising at a fraction of the cost. It's also a proven method that people will by a product if they know a portion of the profit is supporting a good cause as well. This, Mr. Hogg, will increase Frothy's sales tremendously, which means our stocks will go through the roof!"

Boss began to smile once again before offering another frown. "But it will take awhile to get things started, won't it? I'll be without anything to live on until then."

"Oh you will be fine, Mr. Hogg." Steelman continued. "When we went back to Frothy and presented the idea to the board, the members were so excited that they wanted a bigger piece of the pie, so to speak. So it was no problem to honor Mr. Dukes request to only invest half of your initial offer into stocks."

"So you mean….I still have half of my inheritance in the bank?" Boss brightened.

"Yes." Jesse cut in. "You still have the money that Big Daddy left to YOU." He finished, emphasizing the last word of the sentence.

"Well, I'm sure we will be talking a lot over the next few months." Mr. Steelman said, shaking everyone's hand before turning from the group.

Boss laughed and patted Bo's back. "Well my boy! You did it! Frothy is coming to Hazzard! Not in the way we expected of course, but the profits will roll in soon enough. And I want you right by my side every step of the way."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Bo replied. "I'm quitting."

"Quitting?" Boss asked. "You can't quit. You've brought the project this far. You're my son, I need you."

"You're son, huh? Seems I'm your son only as long as you can afford it."

"Well…..Bo you know I didn't mean it. It's………just that I was all upset. I mean, you gotta have money. Without that, you can't have anything, you know."

"Yes you can." Bo replied, putting an arm over Luke's shoulder and the other over Jesse's. "You can have love. The way it seems to me, I have a choice to have everything in the world I could want without real love, or do without everything but real love. And that's what the Duke family is all about. Real love. Now we're not born into the world with a choice as to who we are, but if given the choice, I'd proudly be a poor Duke any day. Thank God I am."

With that, Bo pulled a Xeroxed copy of his mother's letter out of his jacket and handed it to Boss. "Let's go home." He said to Jesse and Luke. As the trio began walking away, Boss unfolded the letter and began to read. As he neared the end, his face became crestfallen and his cigar nearly escaped his lips.

"Hey Boss." Rosco began, coming up beside him. "Good news, good news. They're shutting down the concession stands but I got them to bag up all of the leftover French fries just for you." He finished by holding up a grocery size bag and a 32 ounce bottle of ketchup.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry." Boss replied, waving his hand.

"Not hungry? You must be sick, little fat buddy." Rosco giggled. He then looked closer at Boss. "You alright? You look like you lost your best friend."

Boss sighed. "I didn't loose anything." He replied before walking away.

"What a week!" Bo exclaimed a few days later as he, Luke, and Jesse returned to the house following a trip to the bank. "First we're almost kicked off the farm, then we OWN the farm, now we owe mortgage payments on the farm again!"

"The rummage sale just didn't bring in the money for the new playground that they had hoped." Jesse replied, hanging his trusty red hat on the coat rack. "I'd rather see another year of payments that the look on those kids' faces if we had to tell them that they weren't getting their playground."

"Anybody home?" A female voice shouted from the front door.

"Daisy!" The trio exclaimed. They rushed to the living room where the took turns giving the leggy, lone female member of the family welcoming hugs.

"How's Susan doing?" Uncle Jesse asked.

"Just fine Uncle Jesse. That baby of hers is the cutest thing you've ever seen. Dark hair and blue eyes, just like Luke. I had to keep convincing myself that he wasn't Luke's!" Daisy laughed.

"Well there's never any guarantees you know. How long's it been since you seen Susan, Luke?" Bo teased.

"So, any changes since I've been gone, other than competing stacks of laundry and dishes?" Daisy asked.

The boys looked at Jesse knowingly as he replied. "I'd have to say…" He began. "that things are more or less exactly the same as they were when you left."

THE END


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